


Always

by orphan_account



Category: Hamilton - Miranda, Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Friends to Lovers, Harry Potter AU, M/M, Modern AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-01
Updated: 2016-12-12
Packaged: 2018-06-04 22:47:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,709
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6678415
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The prefect eyed him with obvious impatience. "Yes?"<br/>Alex, oblivious to the boy's annoyance, gave him a wide smile. "I overheard a couple of students mention your name. Aaron Burr, right?"<br/>The wizard narrowed his eyes. "Yes. Why?"<br/>"Well I just thought I could meet you or something, because I heard you were really smart. I mean, you got ten Outstanding's, that's good right? I want to be like you and become a prefect too, so I was wondering if you could tell me how you did it? I mean, yeah, I'm pretty brilliant myself, but I thought that you could give me a couple of tips since I'm kind of new to here. I did read up on Hogwarts, but they didn't say much about O.W.L.s except for that it was this huge exam that fifth years took. You must be a sixth year, then. Also, I met this other guy who was, like, your friend or something, but he was an ass and said I was a smart aleck, plus some other things. Anyways, I punched him, but-"<br/>Aaron cut him off. "Wait, hold up. First of all, calm down. Second of all, who the hell are you?"<br/>Alex stopped bouncing up and down. "Oh," he stuck out a hand, "Alexander Hamilton, at your service."</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know if this has already been done, but whatever! This is my first Hamilton fic, and I'm super excited to write it. So, yeah. Enjoy!

_Headmaster: George William Frederick the Third_

 

_(Chf. Warlock, Grand Sorc. of the Order of Parliament,_

 

_Chf. of the American Exchange Prgrm.)_

 

_Dear Mr. Hamilton,_

 

_We are pleased to inform you that your essay has passed the International Exchange Board of  Education, and you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment._

 

_Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 1._

 

_Yours sincerely,_

 

_George Washington_

 

_Deputy Headmaster_

 

Alex reread the letter for what must have been the one hundredth time and couldn’t help but let a wide smile spread across his face. He knew that he would have gotten in, but it was still an unbelievably amazing experience, seeing that tawny owl land on _his_ windowsill and give him _his_ letter.  

Lost in his thoughts, Alex almost missed the train coming to a stop.

“-out of the doors on your left. Please mind the gap as you exit out of the car, and don’t forget-”

“Shit!” Alex jumped up, scrambling for all of his belongings, and only barely made it out of the car before the automatic doors slid shut with a hiss.

Immediately, he was shoved into the mass of moving pedestrians, who all seemed to be heading in the same general direction. Facing no other option, Alex followed them up a couple of flights of stairs, through the ticket area, and finally out into the brisk London air.

 _Geez_. Alex made sure to stay to the side of the sidewalk (or pavement, whatever) as he pulled out the directions that had arrived with his acceptance letter.

_You will find the Leaky Cauldron on Charring Cross Road._

Pocketing the parchment, the fifteen year old boy started down the street, practically bubbling with energy.

However, twenty minutes later, Alex still hadn’t found the pub, and his energy was starting to dwindle. He walked back down the street feeling a little frustrated.

 _Drip_.

Alex looked up.

 _Drip_.

No way.

 _Drip._

Then, with no other warning, it began to rain _hard_ , and Alex had no choice but to sprint for cover.

“Fuck you too, England,” he muttered, flattening himself under a small awning. It was then that he noticed the sign hanging next door. It was an old, wooden cauldron bearing the words ‘The Leaky Cauldron’ that Alex swore had not been there two seconds ago.

A bell chimed somewhere within the pub when he stepped into the small, shabby place. Alex looked around, hoping that he didn’t look ridiculous standing there, dripping wet, but none of the patrons even spared him a glance.

Alex approached an imposing-looking wizard and tapped his shoulder. “Excuse me, but I’m going to Hogwarts in a couple of days, and I just wanted to ask if you knew how I could get to King’s Cross Station from here?”

The stranger looked affronted. “What do you take me for, kid, a map? I have no idea: The only reason I'm here is to meet my friend Burr. I’m just a financials intern from Glasgow.”

“Oh, sorry, I thought you looked kind of smart, so I just thought-”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” the intern snapped, stiffening in his chair.

Alex was mortified. “I- I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean it like that! It’s just, you look better from the back than you do from the front. No! That came out wrong.”

He stood up, infuriated. “Who the bloody hell do you think you are, you twerp? Some kind of a smart aleck, eh? Well, let me tell you.” The stranger jabbed a finger into Alex’s chest. “You’re just another fucking immigrant, so don't waste my time with your insufferable attitude, you know nothing! And if you -”

Alex didn’t get to hear what he was going to say, because in that moment, a wave of anger rose up inside of him, and he punched the intern square in the face. The man stumbled backwards and was about to pull out his wand, but a couple of bartenders pulled him back, glaring at Alex.

'Great,' he thought, 'I just got here and I've already pissed someone off. Good job, Alex.' However, as he turned to hurry away, another thought struck him. That intern was kind of asking for it though, wasn't he? His immigrant status had always been a sore subject for him, and who did that wizard think he was? He knew nothing about Alex, about his past. He had worked his ass off just to keep on living. Alexander Hamilton was not, and would never be, _just another_ immigrant.

Convincing himself that it wasn't his fault, Alex quickly raced to get checked in. He threw his bags into the room, changed into dry clothes, and hurried behind a tall witch to get through the brick entrance before the intern could challenge him to a duel or something.

Wow. The moment Alex saw Diagon Alley, the quarrel was forgotten. The place was simply... magical. It was lined with so many shops and vendors, and sold everything from ‘Sleekeazy’s new and improved hair tonic, guaranteed to grow you at least 6 cm overnight!’ to ‘England’s fastest broom on the market, the Firebolt Novia!’ Witches, wizards, and various other species bustled around the narrow street, and the soft screech of owls could be heard over the clamor of the shoppers. However, just as Alex was starting to really drink in all of the sights, he was elbowed aside by a pair of chattering girls. Upperclassmen at Hogwarts, judging by the air of disdain surrounding them and the robes they were wearing.

“-Aaron Burr, that fucking nerd, he’s a prefect now, can you believe?”

“Ugh, with him patrolling the hallways we won’t be able to have any fun.”

“Yeah, he’s such a goody-two-shoes, and did you hear he got, like, ten 'Outstandings'?”

He quickly lost them in the crowd, but not before noticing the boy who shouldered past them wearing green robes and a pin of the letter ‘P’ on his chest. The girls’ conversation stopped abruptly when they neared him, and when he passed, they started giggling.

Alex, making a quick deduction in his mind, whirled around and ran after said ‘prefect.’ Gathering up his courage, he skidded in front of him and cut off the boy’s path.

The prefect eyed him with obvious impatience. "Yes?"

Alex, oblivious to the boy's annoyance, gave him a wide smile. "I overheard a couple of students mention your name. Aaron Burr, right?"

The wizard narrowed his eyes. "Yes. Why?"

"Well I just thought I could meet you or something, because I heard you were really smart. I mean, you got ten Outstanding's, that's good right? I want to be like you and become a prefect too, so I was wondering if you could tell me how you did it? I mean, yeah, I'm pretty brilliant myself, but I thought that you could give me a couple of tips since I'm kind of new to here. I did read up on Hogwarts, but they didn't say much about O.W.L.s except for that it was this huge exam that fifth years took. You must be a sixth year, then. Also, I met this other guy who was, like, your friend or something, but he was an ass and said I was a smart aleck, plus some other things. Anyways, I punched him, but-"

Aaron cut him off. "Wait, hold up. First of all, calm down. Second of all, who the hell are you?"

Alex stopped bouncing up and down. "Oh," he stuck out a hand, "Alexander Hamilton, at your service."


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex meets The Gang, angsty backgrounds are discovered, and the mop is not amused.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to the two of you that commented on the first chapter! This one has less plot, but we do get to meet some very special guests and establish much needed background. Hope you enjoy!

Alex just stood there for a minute, smiling and holding his hand out, before realizing that Aaron was not going to shake it any time soon. He let his hand fall to his side and cleared his throat. The prefect was still scrutinizing him. “So…”

Aaron seemed to be shaken out of a reverie. “How about I buy you a drink?”

“That… that would be nice, thanks.” Alex followed him through a group of men and women wearing magenta robes and had to jog to keep up with his long strides.

“Who are they?”

“Wizengamot members taking a recess from a court session.”

“What's a Wizengamot?”

Aaron sighed. “It's the high wizarding court of law in Britain.”

“How-”

“Alex.” Aaron suddenly stopped walking and turned to glare at him. “Christ. Talk less. I'm not an encyclopedia.”

Alex immediately changed his view of Aaron and demoted him to Burr. No way in hell was he ever going to talk less. Burr could take his opinions and shove them up his-

“We're here.” Burr led him into a bar, smaller than the Leaky Cauldron but less sullen. The walls were a fresh green, and the ceiling had been bewitched to look like a clear blue sky. Kind of like the Hogwarts Great Hall, Alex thought, remembering something he had read earlier.

“Are you okay with Butterbeer?”

Alex snapped out of his daze. “Uh, I don't know. Sure.”

Burr nodded and stepped up to the register, casually dodging a mop that was twirling itself across the floor. Alex sat down at the table closest to him, content with just watching the mop clean the floor and harass the couple trying to hook up in a corner booth. Back in Nevis, being associated with magic was like publicly declaring that you had contracted the chickenpox. Everyone thought that you were strange, and no one wanted to come near you. That's why, as a kid, Alex’s mother had always waited for the sun to set and the neighbors to turn off their lights before teaching him all she could about magic. Here, magic was ingrained into everyone’s lives. Such as the self-cleaning mop, which had taken to whacking the legs of the couple until they left the bar.

“If you want to succeed, you need to keep your head down.” Burr appeared in front of Alex, handing him his drink. “Smile more. If you run your mouth off, you're going to wind up looking like a fool.”

Alex took the drink, a buttery golden caramel looking brew, and was just about to take a sip when the doors banged open and revealed the silhouette of three boys.

“Yo, John Laurens in the house!” Cried the first one, striding up to the counter. “Two John Adams- no, make that three!”

“I'll have my usual, mon cherie.” Winked the second boy, flipping his fluffy hair over his shoulder.

“Butterbeer, thanks,” said the third, “and tell your mother I might come around again.”

The barista, a blond bespectacled boy called Matt according to his name tag, flushed a bright red. He could only stand there and gape for a second before blinking and getting straight to work.

“A perfect example.” said Burr, gesturing to the trio of rowdy friends.

“Hey, if it isn't the prodigy of Hogwarts!”

“That's Aaron Burr to you, Laurens.”

The boy who had spoken raised his eyebrows. “Well then, Aaron Burr, sir, I offer my sincerest apologies for bothering you and your…” his eyes landed on Alex, who felt a sudden need to crawl under the table, “friend.”

“He’s an acquaintance,” Burr replied stiffly, “we’ve only just met today.”

Alex whistled. “That’s cold. And here I thought we were meant to be!”

The group cackled, and Alex couldn’t help but beam.

Burr threw his hands into the air. “I don’t even know why I try to be nice anymore.” He then stomped away, throwing the door open with a swish of his robes.

“Don’t mind him,” said ‘Laurens’, who slid into the seat across from Alex, “he’s just a closeted drama queen.” Alex got a closer look at the boy. He was the shortest in the group, with long frizzy hair tied up into a ponytail. “I’m John, by the way. That one,” he pointed to his broad-shouldered friend, who saluted Alex, “ is Hercules. Yes, like the Greek guy. No, he doesn’t like it when people point it out. Yes, he is secretly a big cuddly teddy bear majoring in fashion design who wouldn’t hurt a fly.”

“Unless you touch my knitting needles,” Hercules corrected, cracking his knuckles for emphasis, “then shit gets personal.”

“You should have seen what happened to Laf when he mistook them for chopsticks.”

“In my defense, they were lying on the table on Takeout Day, and we were having Chinese!” Exclaimed Laf defensively. “By the way, I’m-”

“Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette.” John and Hercules chimed in, both trying(and failing) to imitate Lafayette’s accent.

Lafayette rolled his eyes. “You can just call me Lafayette or Laf. Also, Marquis isn't technically a part of my name.”

Alex sat there for a moment, trying to process everything.

“Hey, are you okay?” John snapped his fingers in front of Alex’s face. “Laf, I think we broke him. Oi, say something!”

“You have a lot of freckles.” Alex blurted out. He then flushed red. Hercules and Lafayette gave each other a knowing look, and John just smiled.

“Thanks, I guess.”

It was true though. Freckles adorned John’s skin like stars in the night sky. Alex wondered just how far those freckles went, and then smacked himself in his head. Wonderful. Three minutes into this friendship and he was already forming a crush on him.

Alex cleared his throat, nodded, then paused. “Wait, Lafayette, you're a marquis? Like, a nobleman?”

Said nobleman sighed. “Yes, but I'd rather you didn't go around telling every witch and wizard you meet. It's mostly just a title nowadays, passed down by my father and his father and his mother and so on.”

“Basically, Laf here doesn't like gold diggers.” Hercules said, stealing a sip of John’s Sam Adams.

“Hey! Get your own drink!” John slapped the back of his head, and Hercules choked, spilling half of the beer down his chin.

“John, you little- you just ruined my new tie! It took weeks to find the right materials, and the stitch count, John, I swear to Merlin I will-”

“Okay, Herc, why don't we calm down? Let's go to the bathroom, I'm sure we'll be able to charm it off, non? Besides, you’ll have time to kill him later, maybe when we're passing by Knockturn Alley. It's easier to get away with those kinds of things there.”

“Thanks, Laf.”

Hercules shot one last glare at John before being ushered away by Lafayette. John only chuckled, watching them disappear behind the bathroom’s swinging door, before turning back to Alex.

“So.”

Alex smiled sheepishly, suddenly aware of how alone they were. The mop had ushered out another amorous couple, the old wizard in the corner had finally woken up and shuffled away, and the barista, Matt, had retired to the kitchen behind the bar. The only other person left was a hiccuping goblin, and Alex supposed that it wasn’t even technically a person.

“So.” He said back.

“Who are you?”

Alex was taken aback by his blunt tone. “What?”

“I mean, you haven’t even told me your name.” John observed, narrowing his eyes. “For all I know you could be an Azkaban escapee with a bad case of Dragon Pox.”

“If I had Dragon Pox, I would be green and spewing sparks from my nose.“ Alex pointed out.

“True.” John nodded thoughtfully. “But that doesn’t mean you can’t be a class A criminal.”

Alex laughed. “Okay, okay. I’m Hamilton. Alexander Hamilton.” He paused expectantly, but John didn’t seem to get the reference. “I was born in Nevis, a small island in the Caribbean, and I moved to the New York City with a cousin when I was ten.” He stopped there, deciding not to tell John about how one morning he had woken up and found Peter hanging from the rafters, how he had cried for hours before calling the police, how they had done nothing but take him away from his brother, how he had lived the next five years in that miserable orphanage.

“You okay?” John asked, breaking Alex away from his thoughts. He sounded concerned.

“Yeah, sorry. So, a couple of months ago, a letter arrived in the mail from some company called American Exchange Program.” Well, the letter had arrived for Miss Stevens. Alex had had to sneak into her office after lights out to get the letter. “At first I thought it was a joke, you know?” The letter had been so specific, all the way down to the number of beds away he was from the window, so it was natural to think that it was just another tasteless prank from one of the other kids. “But then I saw the opportunity and I took it. It was like a dream come true when I got accepted a week later. They provided everything, including train and airplane tickets.”

“Air- what?”

“Um, airplane?”

John’s face lit up. “Oh, I know those! I used to see them all the time flying over our neighborhood back in the States. They’re like really big broomsticks with wings, but with enough room for twenty people, right?”

Alex stared at him for a second, looking for any sign of joking in John’s eyes. John’s green, almost hazel eyes that seemed to radiate happiness itself. Alex realized a little too late that it wasn’t appropriate to stare for that long into someone’s eyes, and looked away.

“Uh… not exactly. But anyways, my life basically did a one-eighty degree turn in the last two months.”

John sat back in his chair and blew a stray strand of hair away from his face.

“Wow. Sounds like one of those witch-flick Knut-novels. You’re the once-ordinary witch who experiences a life-changing event and suddenly discovers, like, a hidden power or secret royal bloodline or something. Now all you need is a shining knight in armor, maybe two who battle it out for your affections.” John suddenly adopted a gallant demeanor and stood up. “Oh, Alexander, I have had many a restless night ever since you graced my life with your beautiful eyes. Many a restless night, just _thinking_ about _you_.” He winked, and Alex suddenly felt as if the temperature of the room rose a couple of degrees. They stared at each other for what seemed like forever, before dissolving into a fit of laughter. The mop in the corner suddenly perked up.

"Well," John said, calming down enough to speak, "my background is textbook compared to yours. I'm also an exchange student, but I started here the year I turned eleven. My family's from South Carolina. My dad runs a... trade and farming company, I guess you could say. We're kind of old money." He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "I'm not exactly close to my family. We have very different views on a lot of things. My dad, uh, well, when I said trade, I meant elves. House elves. It's not illegal," John quickly explained at the look on Alex's face, " it's only an exchanging ground. That makes it sound horrible, and I guess it is. A lot of folks, usually old families that get tired of their elves, send them to us- my dad's company, I mean. Laurens and Oswald. It's one of the biggest elf-trading companies in the world, and it's not something I'm proud of. Their disciplinary and treatment towards them... I really hate it."

"Oh." Alex breathed, not sure what to say.

John laughed bitterly. "Yeah. When I was nine, as a birthday present, he took me to one of the grounds. My dad was expecting me to be happy, or excited, or something. So when I burst into tears when he told me that it would be mine someday, he was, well, disappointed would be an understatement. It didn't exactly help that I joined S.P.E.W., the Elfish Welfare club at Hogwarts, my first year there. And to top it all off, I chose that very same year to come out to them. Like I said, they're an old family- dating back to the revolutionary war- so it wasn't the best Christmas present I had ever given to them." John looked at Alex tentatively.  
"I... I'm really sorry. I know that doesn't change anything, but, I'm really, really sorry that you had to go through that." John let out a breath that Alex didn't know he had been holding.

"That means a lot. Thanks, Alex."

Alex nodded, and the mood seemed to shift a little. He realised that he hadn't even tried any of the drink that Burr had bought for him, and raised the glass to his lips.

“Hey, maybe later do wanna- FUCK!”

John chuckled, and the air cleared between them. “You could at least buy me dinner first, Alexander, but if you're that eager I'm sure I can ignore the Three Dates Rule just this once.”

Alex ignored the way his heart jumped at the way John said his name and instead focused on the beautiful, heavenly golden drink made by singing angels and love.

“No, I mean this drink! Uh, Buttery Beard or whatever it's called! It's,” Alex paused to take another gulp, “amazing!”

John gave him a strange look. “You've never had Butterbeer before? Christ, Alex, did you live on a remote island for the majority of your life?”

“Yes.”

“I guess I should have expected that.”

Just then, Hercules and Lafayette came back from the bathroom, with Hercules looking decidedly less murderous.

“John, don’t you dare think that I'm going to forget this any time soon. I will wait until you let down your guard, and then I'll-”

“Alex has never had Butterbeer before.”

Instantly, the tie was forgotten.

“Merde, Alex, what rock have you been living under?”

“Dude, that's… kind of really pathetic!”

“Hey! Just because I haven't had this perfect, flawless, caramel beauty- okay, I get your point. I've missed out on a lot of things in the Wizarding world.”

“It's decided then,” Lafayette announced, “you are now a part of our squad. You have missed some major things in life, and it is up to us three, your holy saviors,” Alex rolled his eyes at this, “to make your less awesome life a little more awesome.”

Two minutes later, the gang was chased, laughing, out of the pub by a very annoyed looking mop-or at least the closest an inanimate object could be to looking annoyed- that had decided that their impromptu party had been too rowdy for its taste. It was worth it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, any comments are welcome!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex has never had friends before. Now, he does.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys. For those hurt and affected by the Orlando shooting, my heart goes out for you. It was a truly horrible and disgusting event, and I hope you guys are staying strong.

“ _Home Life and Social Habits of British Muggles_?”

John looked up from his stack of textbooks. “Yeah, Muggle Studies is required for fifth years.”

Alex opened up a page at random. “‘Muggle and Wizarding Music in British Culture: The Weird Sisters vs. Naked Women on Wrecking Balls’."

"What is this I'm hearing about naked women?" Lafayette appeared around the shelf, grinning. A witch who had been perusing the same section shot him a disapproving look.

" _Why Have Women When You Could Have Horses_?" The three turned around to stare at Hercules, who shrugged and held up a green leather-bound book. "It's a breeder's guide to caring for magical creatures."

" I was seriously reevaluating our friendship for a second there," Lafayette said, disappearing back behind the shelf.

"Well, I guess horses do have a certain charm to them... if you think horse shit is a turn on." Hercules threw the guide at John, who laughed and deflected it with a shield charm. They all watched as the book cut a graceful arc through the air and knocked down an entire display of _The Royal Bloodline: a history_.

"Oi, watch it!" The burly shopkeeper seemingly appeared out of nowhere, startling Alex. "No spells in my shop! Pay for your things and get out!"

"This is the second time we've been kicked out of somewhere," Alex said, clutching his books to his chest and trying not to trip as they all ran out of the bookstore. "I'm beginning to seriously reevaluate _our_ friendship."

"Don't be stupid," John said. "We're your only friends."

Alex looked down and smiled. "Yeah." There was a silence as he walked on and, turning around, Alex realized that they had all stopped about twenty feet away.

"Come here."

Alex stared at Lafayette. "What?"

" _Come here_."

"I don't know what you're- _oomph_!"

Alex was being hugged. Alexander was being hugged by three boys he had met maybe two hours ago. Alexander Hamilton was hugging three boys who were a little more than strangers and inside he actually kind of really wanted them to be a lot more than strangers. Alex was hugging his three new friends.

And, well, he kind of liked it.

"Jesus, Alex, when was the last time you showered?"

"Stop ruining the god damn mood, Hercules."

The group was starting to attract stares, but Alex could care less. It had been a long time sense he had felt this happy, and right now all he wanted to do was hold on to these three wonderful, foul-mouthed, sweaty boys for as long as he could. They stayed like that for a little longer until Alex extracted himself out of the circle.

"Okay guys, enough of the feels fest. We still have one third of the shopping list to go through."

"But _mon petite cherie_ -"

"Hey! 5' 7'' isn't that little!"

"-you are an angst-ridden child that needs to be taken care of with love."

"I'm not a child! I am fifteen and eight months old!"

Hercules laughed and patted Lafayette on the back. "As a fourteen year old, you shouldn't play the age game too lightly."

"My birthday is in a month!" Lafayette protested, but they ignored him.

"Ok, where to next?"

Hercules' hand shot into the air like a schoolboy's. "Madam Malkin's!" he hollered

"What's that?" Alex asked.

"Only the best robes shop in all of Diagon Alley!"

"Okay, okay." John ducked to avoid being slapped by Hercules' flailing arms. "We get it. You've got a thing for clothing."

It must have been quite a sight, a tall, broad-shouldered boy bouncing up and down and waving his arms around while talking about doublets and juliette sleeves. They endured his rants about how contemporary fashion should be revived and moderated for present times, and nodded along when he got heated about the pros and cons of  _prêt-à-porter_ verses _haute couture_. Finally, when they neared the shop, Hercules calmed down a notch.

"Seriously, it's great." Hercules was saying to Alex as they walked in.

"Hello?" The voice seemed to be coming from the back of the shop. "Is that you, Hercules?"

"The one and only," he replied. "Is Madam Malkin here today?"

A middle-aged witch appeared behind the check-out counter, arms piled high with fabrics. She dumped them onto the table and began to sort them. "She's out for a lunch break right now, so I'm taking over. I can do the measurements for today."

"Thanks, Betsy."

"It's not a problem." she peered at the group. "Who's the new one?"

"I'm Alex," he said, stepping forward. Alex waved a little awkwardly. "Hi."

"Hello, Alex. I'm assuming your full name is Alexander? I'm Elizabeth Ross, but everyone calls me Betsy. I'll start with you, then." She waved her hand, and a measuring tape unrolled itself and began to fly around Alex. It nudged his arms, and he held them up.

"How tall are you in metrics?"

Alex let his arms fall to his sides. "Um, I don't really-"

 "1.7 meters. Ok, that's good."

The tape, which had been wrapping itself around Alex's head, fell to the ground. Betsy walked over and started to stare intently at him.

"Hmm. You seem to be missing some meat there," she said, patting his stomach as she walked around him. "Have you been eating properly?" John looked up from the clothing rack he had been perusing.

"I think so," he mumbled, staring at his feet.

Betsy looked searchingly at him, then nodded. "Okay." She didn't pry any further, and Alex let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding. "Hold on." Betsy disappeared into the rows of clothing and emerged minutes later, holding a brown paper package. She held it out to Alex. "In here are you robes and uniform. The colors will change once you get sorted, so there's no need to worry about that part. But," she said, snatching it back before he could take it, "I expect to see you back here in a few months, asking for new ones a few sizes bigger. Capische?"

"Yeah," he said, and Betsy gave him the bag.

"Laurens, you're next!"

Fitting the other three boys didn't take long as they had been here many times before, and about fifteen minutes later they were all holding a brown paper bag.

"I'll send out an owl in maybe a week or so." Betsy went back to sorting out the fabrics. "I need to count out the meters first before you pay."

"Thank you, Mrs. Ross."

"Betsy is fine." She smiled at Alex as a man and his daughter stepped into the shop. "I'll be with you in a minute!" she called out to them. “Hercules, Malkin wanted to tell you..."

John pulled him aside as Hercules began to talk to her about his summer internship.

"Alex, about what Betsy said-"

"I'm fine. Really." Alex smiled at him reassuringly.

" _Have_ you been eating properly, though?"

"Yes."

"But Betsy, she-"

"I said that I was fine. Can you drop it?" he snapped. John recoiled, and Alex could see he was hurt. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to... I'll tell you some other time, okay?"

"Okay." John didn't say anything else, but Alex could tell he was still worried. He took his hand and squeezed it once, before dropping it.

 _What was that?_  He screamed internally. _I didn't give permission for my hands to do that. What came over me?_

"... going."

Alex blinked. "What?"

Lafayette sighed. "I said, we'd better get going since it's getting dark. Are you staying at the Leaky Cauldron too?"

"Oh! Yeah, I am. Staying. I'm staying there. At the Leaky Cauldron."

Lafayette looked at him weirdly and nodded. "Well then, let's go."

Dinner with the boys was as rowdy as expected. They ate in the pub, which doubled as the hotel's lobby, and received no less than four dirty looks from the bartender when they got rambunctious. John kept on sneaking bits of broccoli and chicken tenders onto Alex's plate when he thought he wasn't paying attention, and Alex ate everything on his plate. Hercules had bewitched Lafayette's robes to shrink whenever he swore too loudly, and Lafayette countered by slowly adding more and more Firewhiskey into his drink until Hercules' face turned a bright red. Alex had never laughed so much in his life.

"I'd like to give a toast," cried Hercules, whose tie had somehow ended up on his head, "to freedom."

"To the four of us." Lafayette solemnly added, hiccuping. He raised his glass, and the tear in his sleeve grew a little.

John looked Alex in the eye. "To tonight," he said.

"To tonight."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd be honored if you commented and told me how bad/okay/so-so/good/horrible this chapter was, and how I could improve. Because it's summer, I will definitely try to update faster.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Next stop: Hogwarts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Appears* What'd I miss? Ok ok I'm really really really really really really sorry, I went on an impromptu trip to Japan and then I sort of lost motivation, but my muse came back! Still, I'm super sorry. Thank you, those of you that reviewed! So, without further ado, here is chapter 4. I didn't bother to read it over because I wanted to get it to y'all as fast as possible.

The next few days passed in a blur of learning how playing Exploding Snap("Your eyebrows are looking a little sparse." "Oh piss off, John.") and having one too many Butterbeers, and before he knew it, it was September 1.

"Sun's out, wands out!"

Alex groaned and burrowed deeper into his blankets. "Nooooo, one more minute."

Hercules barged into his room and yanked the covers away. "Come on, up we go!" He grabbed Alex by the ankles and started to drag him off the bed.

"Herc, I still have jet lag," he whined, blindly groping for a surface to latch onto.

"I don't know what kind of disease that is, but I'm pretty sure you're lying," Hercules replied cheerfully.

"It's not a- fuck, that was my head! Okay, okay, I'm up, please stop."

He let go and Alex scrambled to his feet, rubbing at the spot where his forehead had hit the foot of the bed.

"Jesus, you're so violent," he muttered, but Hercules had already run downstairs. Grumbling, Alex made a last minute check on his belongings.

Toothbrush? Check. Gotta respect oral hygiene.

Books? Check. They had cost a lot, and he was not about to pay so much just to get some processed trees.

Alex meticulously looked over everything in his suitcases one last time before, satisfied, he walked downstairs to join the others.

"I think we need to put a restraining order on Hercules," Alex said, sitting down next to John. "He physically attacked me this morning! I suggest handcuffs, or at least a leash." John muttered something about being kinky into his eggs and Lafayette gasped, a look of exaggerated shock evident on his face as he turned to stare at Alex.

"What? My Hercules? He would never! Why, he couldn't even hurt a fly!"

Alex shrugged and started digging into his toast. "Well then, call me an insect, but I couldn't mistake that cloth thing anywhere. Unless a burglar came and mistook that thing for an actual piece of clothing, Herc."

Hercules scowled. "It's a headband, Al. Also, you shouldn't eat so much if you plan on getting anything from the food trolley."

Alex perked up. "They have those licorice wands right? And those chocolate toads?

"Frogs," John corrected. "And yeah. I don't know why you like the wands so much though."

Lafayette grinned and took a swig of his orange juice. "I do."

Hercules grimaced. "Laf, you nasty."

He only laughed and finished his drink. "Ok guys, let's move out! We've got a train to catch."

It turned out that they really did have a train to catch. Lafayette had asked his room's mirror to wake him up at 6:00, but apparently it woke him at 7:00, and only did so to insult what he was wearing. Lafayette was still sporting a pout as the quartet raced out of the Cauldron and into the street, respective suitcases in hand.

"They were only pajamas! I would never wear them out in the public, never! Especially since they were out of season! But I just thought, I'm never going to wear last May's-"

"April," Hercules reminded him, coming to a stop.

"-April, whatever, and they were comfortable enough to sleep in, but they aren't that bad, so it had no right to judge!"

John tried to pat his arm sympathetically but instead whacked him in the face with his bag. "Shit, sorry. Anyway, you should be glad you wore last May's-"

"April!"

"-April, whatever, last April's shirt, or else we would have had to miss the train entirely and pull a Ford Angela."

Alex caught up to them, panting and cursing his short genetics. "What are we standing here for?"

"We're taking the bus," John replied. He looked around and, seeing there was no one around, quickly stuck his wand into the street.

"What bus? What are you-"

The was a loud 'BANG!', and then a large purple bus seemingly appeared out of nowhere. It barreled down the road towards them, narrowly missing a street sign, and screeched to a halt before the pub. Alex almost tripped backwards in his haste to not get run over.

The other three boys seemed to be unfazed, although Hercules did turn a little green as he eyed the double- no, triple- decker. A tall, lanky man around the age of forty with large protruding ears stepped off.

"Welcome to the Knight Bus, emergency transport for the stranded witch or wizard. Just stick out your wand hand, step on board, and we can take you anywhere you want to go. My name is Stan Shunpike, and I will be your conductor this evening." he said all of this with a automatic, almost mechanical tone. "I'll take your luggage."

Alex hurried on behind John and came to a stop when he got a good look at the bus.

"Woah. It's..."

"Bigger on the inside. Yeah." John turned to grin at him.

"For thirteen sickles you can get a hot chocolate, and for two more you can have a hot water bottle and a toothbrush with the colour of your choice." Stan stared at Alex expectantly, and he realized with a jolt that he was waiting for an answer.

"Oh, um, no thanks."

The conductor nodded absently and sat down, blankly gazing at the opposite row of seats.

"He's been like that ever since the war," John explained as they sat down. "The Ministry let him off with a warning, but he hasn't been the same since he'd been Imperiused by Voldemort."

The doors closed with a hiss.

"Hold on," Hercules shouted as the bus started up. It was just then that Alex realized the seats were not bolted down.

By the time Alex's feet touched the solid ground again he had thrown up, been on the receiving end of a hot chocolate, and almost kissed Lafayette twice. He stumbled off of the bus, dazed and confused, and distantly heard Hercules fertilize a patch of grass with his breakfast. Lafayette didn't seem too affected, and he kept on making kissing noises at Alex. John had an arm slung around Hercules and was cackling.

"I am never, ever doing that again," Alex braced himself against a telephone pole and discreetly muttered a quick 'tergeo'. It didn't completely clean the hot chocolate away, but at least his hair was feeling a little less sticky.

He straightened up and groaned. His head felt like it was splitting open, although seeing how many times Alex had flown into a window, he wouldn't be surprised if it was.

"Come on!" Lafayette grabbed his arm and pulled him along. "We're going to miss the train."

John and Hercules were already in the station and had gotten trolleys. Lafayette threw his and Alex's suitcases onto one and the three took off.

Only to race back to find Alex still standing there, looking as if he was about to throw up again.

John rolled his eyes. "Oh for god's sake." Before Alex could react, he was being hoisted onto a pile of suitcases.

"What are you-" The trolley made a sharp left and Alex nearly toppled off, shrieking. " _What the hell_?"

"Sorry!" John laughed, but Alex could tell he didn't really mean it.

"There's a little girl you're about to- _you almost ran over her! Eyes on the road, Laurens!_ "

"Maybe I should mention that I can't exactly see the road right now."

" _Are you fucking kidding me_ \- Left! That is a train track John are you trying to kill me?"

"That's Platform 9, guys!" Hercules yelled.

" _Mon diu_ , John, watch where you're going."

Alex blanched. "Uh, John, that's kind of a brick wall we're running towards at high speeds right now."

"Oh thank Merlin, I thought we would never get there."

"Get where? What are you doing John? John. _John, that is a solid brick_ -"

They passed straight through the bricks as if they were nothing more than air.

"-wall?"

"Welcome to Platform 9 3/4," John said, sweeping his arms in a dramatic arc. Alex clambered off the teetering pile of suitcases.

"Wait." He walked up to the wall they had hurtled through seconds before and tentatively poked it. His hand went through. "What..."

"What are you, a Muggle?" Lafayette teased him. Alex looked at him.

"You mean a No-Maj?"

"Potato, potato. Same difference," John said. "Now get your ass on the train before I have to carry you again."

All around Alex, he could see hundreds of families gathered on the platform to say goodbye to their children. Some were like him, and had arrived alone. Others huddled in groups of friends, excitedly talking about their summers and the upcoming year. The train whistle blew, and the masses of children began to crowd towards the doors. Last minute goodbye's were shouted over the din of chatter and promises to send owls- yes Mum, every month, love you too Mum- were made. Alex more or less was pushed onto the Hogwarts Express.

"Go, go go," Hercules chanted behind him. "We've got to get yo our compartment before someone else does!“

John led the way with the others right at his heels. He slowed down periodically, peering through compartment doors, but all of the ones they passed were already full. Finally, John skidded to a stop in front of the second to last one on the right and flung the door open triumphantly. It was empty, with two rows of seats facing each other and a large view of the country side.

Alex blinked. Huh. The train must be moving a lot faster than he thought. He hadn't even felt it start up.

John plopped down on a seat and Hercules joined him, jostling him a little as he sat. Alex chose the window seat across from John, and Lafayette followed suit. The compartment itself was very spacious, and Alex couldn't help but think that the train didn't look as big from the outside.

For an hour or so, everyone was quiet. Alex stared out the window, admiring the change of scenery from the bustling city he had been stuck in for three years. Not that he didn't love New York City, but it was kind of hard to appreciate the greatest city in the world from the window of a room you shared with six boys. The only sound that could be heard was the rustle of the paperback Lafayette was reading, the scratching of John's pencil on paper, and Herc's occasional swearing when he managed to stab himself with his knitting needle.

"What are you drawing?" Alex curiously tried to peer over the sketchbook John was holding, but the freckled boy brought it to his chest before he could see.

"Nothing," he replied.

Just then, a clattering was heard from the corridor, and a smiling, gray-haired woman pushed a trolley up to their door.

"Anything off the cart, dears!"

Needless to say, all of their pockets were a great deal lighter after their purchases. Alex couldn't remember the last time he had eaten so much candy. Licorice wands, Pumpkin Pasties, you name it, they had bought it. Alex found a Merlin and another Hermione Granger to add to his collection of Chocolate Frog cards, and John and Herc were daring each other to eat various sketchy-looking Bertie Bott's Every Flavoured Beans.

Although Alex later found out that the train ride had been almost nine hours, it seemed to pass like a fast forwarded film. When they stumbled off of the train, red faced and laughing, the sky had already turned dark, and stars were beginning to show. They had arrived on a small platform, but it was too dark to make out any more details. 

"Firs' years! Firs' years over here! Also, I need to see an Alexander Hamilton?"

A large giant of a man loomed over the crowd of students. However, past the shaggy hair and mane of almost graying beard, the man had a kind smile and glinting black eyes. Alex shrugged at his friends' confused faces and made his way over to him. Now that he was standing in front of the man, Alex had to crane his neck up to look at him.

"I'm Alex," he said. The giant man looked down at him and smiled.

"Hamilton?"

He nodded.

"Yer comin' with the others firs' years, Hamilton," he said, clapping Alex on the back. Alex doubled over from the force and almost knocked into a pair of witches. "Okay, c'mon! Firs' years follow me!"

Alex had no choice but to trudge after the man, sullenly noting that he blended right in- height wise- with the first years. As he turned, he caught one last glimpse of John's curly hair getting into a carriage that was being pulled by a skeletal-looking horse of sorts that had large, bony wings. The creature turned and seemed to look Alex right in the eye. Shivers ran down his spine, and he quickened his steps down the narrow path.

"Yeh'll get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec, jus' round this bend here."

The path suddenly opened up, revealing a large black lake. On the the other side, a magnificent castle sat atop a high mountain, with its gleaming lights reflected on the surface of the lake. Alex gaped. He had never seen a more beautiful sight.

"No more'n four to a boat!" the man called. Alex followed the other students' gaze to a fleet of small boats bobbing gently in the water. He numbly got into one, still in awe of the great castle that lay ahead. "Everyone in? Right then- FORWARD!" 

The boats all started off, gliding over the lake. After a while of basking in the wonder that was Hogwarts, a commotion could be heard from one of the nearby boats. Apparently, someone had seen a long, black tentacle- no, there were eight! and a giant, unblinking eye!- rise from the lake. "That's jus' the Giant Squid, folks. It's harmless, don' worry yerselves."

After a little while, he yelled out for everyone to duck, and when Alex looked up again, he found that they had arrived at some kind of underground harbor. Everyone clambered out of the small boats and followed the light of the giant man's lantern as he led them up a stone passageway and out onto a grassy area. A great deal of oohing and aahing could be heard. Alex realised with a jolt that they were standing right in front of Hogwarts. Its tall walls and spires seemed to touch the sky itself, and the great oak door in front at least spanned two floors high of an ordinary home.

Alex jumped at a sound of booming, only to flush a little when he found out it was just the man knocking on the double doors. They swung open immediately, and a tall, broad shouldered man greeted them.

"These are the firs' years, Professor Washington."

"Thank you, Hagrid." the professor nodded to the man named Hagrid. Alex observed that he had an American accent. "I'll take it from here." Hagrid nodded and disappeared down a path to their left, his lantern's light quickly swallowed by the night. Professor Washington swept his eyes across the huddle of intimidated students, and Alex could swear his gaze lingered a little longer on him. "Follow me," he said. 

The hall they entered was enormous, with torches casting light on a grand marble staircase that wound up to higher floors. Professor Washington led them into a small side chamber and turned to face them. Alex could hear the sounds of laughter and chatter from the double doors across the hall.

"Welcome," said the professor, "to Hogwarts, School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Shortly, there will be a banquet to celebrate the start of this year's term, but before then, the Sorting of the Houses will begin." There were some whispers at this, but those who did were quickly silenced by a stern look from Professor Washington. "During your stay at Hogwarts, your House will be like your family. You will have classes with them, eat in the Great Hall beside them, and cheer them on at Quidditch matches. 

"In the beginning, there were four founders. They built this very school on each of their morals, and so the four Houses were created. Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin." Suddenly there was a horrible scream, and everyone turned to witness what had just happened. Alex raised an eyebrow. A ghost had popped out of a tapestry, scaring the poor girl who had been unfortunate enough to have stood near it. The ghost itself was draped in a sheet and the rest of its body shone a silvery, translucent color. Apparently the others hadn't read of the resident dead at Hogwarts as they were standing stock still, too scared to move. 

"Hehe! Hello, ickle first years! Scared ya, didn't I?" The ghost removed the sheet, revealing a rather stout and hawk-nosed man. He cackled and began to sing.

"Little, ickle firsties,

tiny, scaredy souls.

Peevsies loves his firsties,

he'll turn them into trolls!"

"That doesn't even make sense," Alex muttered to himself. However, the others shrank back.

"Leave them alone, Peeves," Professor Washington snapped, "or I'll call the Bloody Baron." Peeves blew a raspberry at him and flew away, all the while still singing the song he had made up. 

"Anyway, like I said, you will be Sorted into either of those four Houses. Your House will thrive and grow with your well-doings, earning you House points. However, any tricks or cheats will lose them. The House Cup will be presented to the House with the most points at the end of the year.

"The Sorting will begin soon. While waiting, you-" he looked down at a silver wristwatch he wore on his left hand. "Ah, nevermind that, follow me now. Single file, don't push, you will be called up alphabetically."

The group walked behind Professor Washington through the double doors Alex had noticed earlier. The talking stopped abruptly, then came back louder than before.

The entrance hall was nothing compared to the immensity of the Great Hall. Instead of torches, hundreds of thousands of candles floated above, giving everything a surreal and magical light. Four tables that ran the length of the room dominated the floor space and many students sat at them. Alex spotted his trio of friends sitting at the table on his immediate right and John waved, yelling over the din of chatter. Alex had no idea what he was saying, but it was probably funny as Hercules and Lafayette immediately burst into laughter. He rolled his eyes and walked on, admiring the, well, _greatness_ of the Great Hall. Like the pub from weeks ago, the ceiling was enchanted to look like the sky outside, giving the feeling that there rather wasn't a ceiling at all. At the head of the hall, the floor was raised, and a smaller table ran perpendicular to the other four. At that one, the staff- or what Alex assumed was the staff- sat, talking amongst themselves and watching over the students. At the center was a magnificent throne that seemed a little out of place, and on it sat a particularly strange man. He had on a snow white wig -there was no way that was his real hair, Alex reasoned-, and atop that a ludicrously decorated crown. I mean, sure, a fancy chair was cool, but an actual fucking crown and- was that a cape? Alex squinted to see a little more clearly and- yep, that was a real cape.

He was brought out of his reverie by the sight of Professor Washington bringing out a raggedy old hat on a stool. Alex stared at it in confusion. What were they supposed to do with that? After everything that had happened in the past month or so, Alex wouldn't be surprised if it started singing. Oh, wait. Was that a mouth that opened up?

 

_"Welcome first years,_

_Welcome all!_

_I am the Hat_

_I make the call._

_A hat? you say,_

_What a silly thing!_

_Well watch your mouth,_

_Or the worst I'll bring._

_I am the Sorting Hat,_

_And I decide your fate._

_Lion, snakey, bird, or badger?_

_I guess you'll have to wait._

_So put me on your tiny head,_

_And I will set to work._

_To find who you truly are,_

_And what you're really worth._

_Brave and brash,_

_Loud and proud?_

_Then Gryffindor it is._

_True and loyal,_

_Right and just?_

_Then join Hufflepuff you must._

_Or maybe you're in Ravenclaw,_

_Where brain is more than brawn._

_Where wit is all, and books are friends_

_That keep you up til dawn._

_Or maybe with the Slytherins,_

_Is where you'll fit right in_

_If you've got the sky and stars to reach_

_and you know that you must win._

_For surely, with my choice for you,_

_You'll reach your wanting fame._

_So go ahead! I'm waiting here!_

_To help you make your name!"_

 

 

 

Huh, okay, so it actually did sing. Alex couldn't help but wonder how long it took for the Hat to write that song as he clapped along with the rest of the students. He supposed that if the Hat served no other function than to sort the students every fall, then it must spend the other 355 days planning its song. 

Professor Washington stepped forward and the entire hall fell silent. "When I call your name, you will come up and try on the Hat to be sorted," he said. "Adams, John!"

And so the Sorting began. Ravenclaw, Slytherin, Ravenclaw, Ravenclaw again, etcetera etcetera. Alex lost track. When the 'H's came round he readied himself, heart racing, but his name was never called. He watched with dismay as "Lynch jr.", "Middleton", "Stockton", and even "Witherspoon" went up, but not him. Eventually, everyone  _except_ him was called, and he was left standing alone in the middle of the hall. 

"And now, this year's transfer students," Professor Washington said, "Penn, John?" No one answered. Everyone looked around in confusion. "Penn, John? No? Okay then. Hamilton, Alexander?"

Alex swallowed and stepped forward. He walked up and sat down on the small wooden chair, and the Hat was placed on his head.

"Ooh, a transfer student?" a small voice said in his ear. "From the Colonies? Ah yes, sorry, the Americas. My, the years fly by. Hm, let's see. Well, it's quite obvious, isn't it? The ambition here is raging. You came from a troubled past, and know you want to prove yourself. You're very smart too, cunning, almost. Well, well, what to do? What's this? Why, you've got a big heart! Not physically of course, no need to worry yourself with heart disease. This is difficult, very difficult."

The Hat was suddenly silent. Alex didn't know how long it stayed that way, but it felt like hours.

"I see your future, Mr. Hamilton, and I can see the acts you will perform. I might not agree with them, but these acts are great. Might I even daresay that you will change the world! For better or for worse, however, I cannot say. Ah, no more talking, I don't want to spoil everything for you. Well, I know now. Better be-"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CLIFFHANGER!!!! Also, some fun facts:  
> Yes, I wrote the song. I dunno, it took me about five minutes so it's probably bad.  
> The names called at the Sorting are all people who signed the Declaration of Independence!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hammy gets pissed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At this point, I honestly should crawl into a hole and die.  
> For everyone that commented on this story, thank you so much! I've kind of been going through a rough patch, and school and finals absolutely cemented my writer's block. But seriously though. All of your comments make me squeal.  
> Please don't kill me.

"SLYTHERIN!"   
  
Alex blinked at the sudden brightness of the Great Hall as the Hat was lifted off of his head. A loud cheer went up at the rightmost table. Alex assumed that they were the Slytherins.   
  
Slytherin. The Evil House™. Their house symbol was even a snake, a notoriously cunning and dangerous reptile. Not to mention the countless dark witches and wizards that were brought up in those very common rooms. All of these thoughts ran through Alex's head as he hesitantly made his way towards his table. The things he'd heard about Slytherin didn't exactly paint it a good picture. Sly, dark, scary, unreliable. The commons were in the dungeons, and everything was creepy. Worst of all, it was most likely freezing cold down there.

Alex was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't even pay attention to where he was sitting until he almost sat _on_ someone.  
  
"Hamilton! Watch where you're going."  
  
Alex stumbled and stood back up, flustered. "Shit, sorry Burr. Didn't see you there."  
  
Burr sighed and straightened his robes, looking slightly ruffled. "It's fine. Don't do it again."  
  
Alex nodded, red, and sat down on the bench opposite him. He eyed the people around him warily, expecting someone to jinx him or suddenly summon Voldemort back from the dead.  
  
"Hey, you."  
  
Alex jumped and his hand shot to his pocket where his wand was. He turned and came face-to-face with the very pretty girl sitting next to him.  
  
"Look, I don't want any trouble, I can move seats if you want, it's-"  
  
The girl raised an eyebrow. "Chill. I just wanted to ask if you could pass the gravy."  
  
Alex looked at the table and realized with a start that, in his nervousness, he hadn't even noticed the entire buffet that had appeared in front of him.  
  
"Oh, uh, sure. Here." he handed the golden platter of gravy to the girl.  
  
"Thanks. I'm Maria by the way."  
  
"Er, Alex." he stuck out his hand to shake but was met only with a confused look. Apparently, it wasn't a custom here in England. Or America. Or anywhere he went.  
  
"You're cute," she said. Then she turned away, leaving him even redder than before.  
  
This must've been a mistake. Did he sit down at the wrong table? Nobody here looked evil. There he had been, expecting the Slytherins to all have fangs or something when in fact the guy right next to him almost cried when a spider jumped onto his plate. Everyone around him started laughing as the kid tried to hex the spider away. Then the spider swelled to twice its size, and no one was laughing anymore.  
  
" _Reducio_!" Burr pocketed his wand and stood up, glaring at everyone. "Now, kindly return to your seats and stop the fuss or that spider won't be the only thing getting reduced here."  
  
All of the boys averted their eyes and sat back down while the girls snickered. Alex smiled inwardly and reached across to table to help himself to some minced beef pie. And some mashed potatoes. And some turkeys legs. Lots of turkeys legs.  
  
As helping after helping slowly disappeared off of his plate, Alex began to drowsily tune into the lull of conversations around him.  
  
  
  
"... can you believe that?"  
  
"Give me the word and I'll hex the sorry wanker..."  
  
  
  
"... I bet you can't fit that entire slice into your mouth."  
  
"Challenge _accepted_."  
  
  
  
"No. No. Susie, that's- ew! No! I don't need to hear about your sex life!"  
  
  
  
"... excited for Quidditch season?"  
  
"No."  
  
"What? I thought you loved Quidditch, mate!"  
  
"Yeah, I did, until the Ravenclaw Beater 'accidentally aimed in the wrong direction.’"  
  
"Was that the one you broke up with the day of his birthday?"  
  
"Now that you mention it..."  
  
  
  
"... I personally completely agree with the Headmaster, of course. Ever since the Exchange Program started up, there have been more and more Americans here."

  
  
Alex perked up and subtly turned toward where the conversation was coming from.   
  
"It's disrupting the balance at Hogwarts. Hogwarts used to be the most prestigious Wizarding school in England, but now it's as if anyone can just get in."   
  
The speaker was a brown haired boy, and he was addressing a curious crowd of onlookers who had all turned in their seats to listen to his ramble.   
  
"Look," the boy said," I'm all for giving everyone an equal opportunity, but I simply don't think that the sudden influx of transfer students is healthy."   
  
Before Alex knew it, he had stood up and crossed his arms. "That's all very hypocritical, isn't it?"   
  
A murmur went up in the surrounding students and the boy turned to face him, looking affronted. Burr groaned in his seat and muttered a prayer.   
  
"Excuse me?"   
  
"You heard me," Alex replied, "you're contradicting yourself. It's not equal opportunity if potential students are denied education at Hogwarts only because it's ‘disrupting the balance.'"   
  
The boy sputtered and flushed pink. "I- well, you see-"   
  
"Look," Alex strode over to where the boy was stuttering and jabbed a finger in his chest. "What's your name?"   
  
"Er, S- Samuel. Seabury."   
  
"Well okay, Seabury, listen to this. I am an immigrant. Not just from America, but also from the West Indies. My entire life, I've met people like you. People who claim they're for equality then tell me I'm not welcome. There's something that you all don't seem to understand, and it's the fact that there is no other reason to your prejudice than your dislike of people who aren't like you. The transfer students here aren't stealing your grades. They're not bullying you or threatening you in any way. What are you so scared of?"   
  
"This is what I meant!" Seabury laughed nervously and his eyes darted around the entranced crowd of students. "Don't you guys see? These Americans are going around, picking fights for no reason!"   
  
Alex narrowed his eyes and tightened the grip on the wand that he hadn't realized he was clutching. "For _no reason_?" Alex asked incredulously.   
  
A hand came down on his shoulder, but he didn't flinch. "Alexander, that's enough," Burr said warningly. Alex shrugged it off.   
  
"For no reason, Seabury? For no reason? That's funny, because I seem to recall that you were the one who started this all by announcing your protest against transfer students coming here."   
  
"I- I was only voicing my opinions! Or is that not allowed?"   
  
"I'LL RESPECT YOUR OPINIONS AS LONG AS THEY DON'T DISRESPECT SOMEONE ELSE'S EXISTENCE!" Alex roared.   
  
Seabury seemed to be too stunned by his outburst to respond. By now, their shouting had attracted almost the entire Great Hall's attention.   
  
"Tell 'im, Alex!" John hollered, two tables away. The rest of the gang cackled.   
  
Seabury grasped for words. "Well- I mean- freedom of speech- I'm allowed to voice my opinions-"   
  
"You can shove your polluted opinions up your _ass_ for all I care."   
  
"That's _enough_ ," Burr barked. Seabury took the opportunity and skirted away, and Alex rounded on Burr angrily.   
  
"Don't pull that shit with me, Burr. Sitting there all goody two shoes while people like him mock us. Drop the niceties!"   
  
"Shhhh!" A Hufflepuff turned and glared at Alex. "The Headmaster is about to speak."   
  
Alex huffed and stomped back to his seat. If Burr hadn't interrupted, he could have taught that Seabury a lesson or two.   
  
"Ahem," the strange man at the staff table- the Headmaster- stood up. "Silence, everybody," he trilled, smiling.   
  
The buzzing of conversations dipped in volume but continued on.   
  
The Headmaster’s smile disappeared instantly. "I said, SILENCE!"   
  
The candles flickered out, and the Great Hall instantly quieted with his change of mood. You could probably hear a pin drop if anyone happened to be carrying around a pin and was clumsy enough to drop it at that precise moment. No one did. Everyone seemed to be holding their breath.   
  
"There we go," the Headmaster said, smiling again. "Not that hard, is it?" The Hall brightened again with a wave of his wand. Then, stepping forward, he spread his hands.   
  
"Welcome, children, to Hogwarts! I am your Headmaster, George William Frederick the Third. Today marks the beginning of another splendid year if I do say so myself. I would like to personally say to the new transfer students: welcome! And to the returning ones, welcome back! As the Chief of the American Exchange Program, and a proud supporter of the National Exchange Program, I am delighted to say that our school boasts a diverse student population. Your stay here, although brief, is all made possible by me! Your expenses are paid for from my own pockets, of course. Not that money is a problem. Ha! However, as I always like to say, quid pro quo. Something for something, yes? Hopefully, Hogwarts will be getting as much as it's giving, if you know what I mean…”

Alex raised an eyebrow incredulously. What?

“Anyway, what I'm really trying to say is this. Have fun! Make yourself at home here. You are all my favorite subjects- erm, students! Ahem! Sorry, nasty cold going around." George coughed delicately into his hand. "Just know that I love each and every one of you. And if push comes to shove, well. I won't hesitate to remind you of that."

A smatter of murmuring went up at this. Alex frowned.

The Headmaster coughed again. “Well. Pleasant talk. I think that it's about time you all went to bed, yes? Goodnight!”

The Hall immediately dispersed into chaos as students pushed their benches back noisily and began to talk. Alex absentmindedly followed his house down a corridor to the left, his mind still on the speech that had just been made. He didn’t understand most of what had just gone down, but he was sure about one thing.

This Headmaster was batshit crazy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm terribly sorry if this doesn't live up to your expectations. I didn't beta this because I just wanted to get it out to you guys ASAP. I hope you guys enjoy it? I dunno.  
> Also, HAPPY NEW YEARS! 2016 was not a good year for me, but I have tentative hopes for 2017. We'll just have to see. I hope everyone has had a nice holiday break!

**Author's Note:**

> What did ya'll think? Comments are always welcome, and are basically my motivation. Also, feel free to point out any mistakes/things I could do to improve my writing!


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